And Villas-Boas, who worked under Mourinho at Porto, Chelsea and Inter Milan and managed Chelsea last season, has backed his old boss to be a success if he returns to the Blues.

Even though Villas-Boas has not spoken to Mourinho since the pair's working relationship ended at Inter in 2009, he said: "Obviously, his desire to come back to England is extremely strong.

"Whether he has a club lined up, we never know. It is extremely unlikely, when someone makes it that public, that everything is not set out already.

"He would be a great addition to the Premier League. Jose has a wonderful history in this league, and it would be spectacular to have him back. Everyone has maximum respect for what he has achieved."

Meanwhile, Villas-Boas played down suggestions that the presence of two German teams in this season's Champions League final offered evidence that the balance of power in European football is shifting towards the Bundesliga.

"That question always arises when an English team is not present in the final, and we speak about a shift. I don't agree with that," he said.

"We had two wonderful semi-finals, and this is the time for the German clubs to be there. At the moment, German soccer is going through an explosion. They deserve credit.

"There are always lessons to learn, but I still feel the English teams are extremely competitive.

"What this will do is allow German football to have more notoriety, particularly with arrival of Pep Guardiola [at Bayern Munich] next season."